After market HU's.....what are you running?

[purevilpleasure]

There are threads here and there with what some are running.

But I'm interested in seeing some comparing of what you have now or what you have used.

What you like about it, what you wish was a bit different.

My stock unit has some issues with it and I'm thinking......I want something a bit nicer.

In the past I never had a chance to be able to ask people from all over the world on what they have and how it works for them.

 

[blwnbyu]

I'm running the Kenwood 9990HD..
In the past, all I have ever run is Alpine DVD players. But in the past few years, Alpines just don't feel superior anymore. I can't stand Pioneer. Most of their HU's have a fancy looking Graphic User Interface, but other than that, vary few actual features.

I added steering wheel controls, Sat radio, and it already has built in Nav, along with Ipod AND Simultaneous USB connectivity. Kenwood also releases software updates to this unit on a very regular basis.

My favorite features are the fact that it has a 14? band graphic EQ which is customized for each DIFFERENT source, for example, you set the eq for the ipod and then change sources to satellite, which sounds different, and you have a different EQ for it too. I've never had a HU that acts so much like a sound processor. Having such awesome tuning capabilities has made the system I installed in this car sound far better than the much more expensive system I'm running in my mustang but with an Alpine DVD that has much less tuning abilities.

Aesthetically, you can also customize the buttons to any color, set the screen memory for many different angles, and even angle the screen down if you have glare. The feature set goes on and on, but those are probably my favorites..

But, if you are just looking for a DVD/NAV, you can get by alot cheaper, but IMO a few hundred dollars more now will keep you ahead of the features on 90% of the units on the market for years to come, negating the want to upgrade as soon.

 

[Telco]

blwnbyu, have a picture? Been debating replacing mine as it's occasionally hung a disk and I don't know if it's getting ready to go, but the way it's build into the stack I don't know how an aftermarket unit would look. I didn't want to ask since if it lasts until next spring/summer unless it just breaks hard, but seeing as the thread is here anyway...

 

[RigsLS]

How many people here ever realized that the Username "blwnbyu" actually stands for "Blowing By You" ???

I'm blonde ... I only just clued in today.

 

[scjmc]

I am running a Sony XAV70BT. It is a really nice unit for the price point. Good screen, good sound quality and output, good user interface, etc. I also have the steering wheel controls. The integrated blue tooth works very well. Also the parking lockout is easy to defeat, and you can add backup cam, line in, etc.

Things that I don't like so much? Whatever processor they have dedicated to your inputs could be faster. The unit can be a little unresponsive at times. Also it is not compatible with XM, only Sirius, so I stream XM with my phone over the Blue tooth. There could also be a few more choices for background animations. One thing to note is that this unit BARELY fits in the LS. I had it in my GEN I and my GEN II. The GEN I required grinding down a sloppy weld to get it to go in all the way.

Another thing to note is that I got my wife a nice Pioneer DVD player, and we hated it. The user interface was truly terrible. I usually buy pioneer HUs, but that DVD was disappointing. Thats considering that I don't care for Sony, but we both agreed that the Sony in the LS was better.

 

[purevilpleasure]

Thanks all....this is the info I'm looking for.

 

[blwnbyu]

blwnbyu, have a picture? Been debating replacing mine as it's occasionally hung a disk and I don't know if it's getting ready to go, but the way it's build into the stack I don't know how an aftermarket unit would look. I didn't want to ask since if it lasts until next spring/summer unless it just breaks hard, but seeing as the thread is here anyway...

Backup Cam

Split Screen Navigation/Backup Cam

I'll go take some pics of the various screens..

I forgot to add that it has integrated bluetooth, which works amazing.. I just carry my phone in my pocket.. It syncs automatically, and mutes whatever I'm listening to when the phone rings. I can even look up numbers in the phone book, recent calls, etc thru the Kenwood, as well as stream AND CONTROL Pandora, or AHU.

Backup Camera can be operated while driving and the navigation is Garmin, which I like considerably more than NAVTEC, as well as it has lifetime updates, custom routes, and live traffic. The navigation truly is top notch.

How many people here ever realized that the Username "blwnbyu" actually stands for "Blowing By You" ???

I'm blonde ... I only just clued in today.

They have been my mustang license plates for the last 12 years. It can be taken as blowing by you, or blown by you, whichever way your mind wants to take it

 

[RigsLS]

LOL, I never looked at it correctly. until today.

did you get your chrome deco clip for the vent ?

EDIT:
just located the blow-up diagram I got from the Stealers that day, shows listed as P/N: 19E984,
It will be the little back vent grip with the chrome deco piece.


(part number for the chrome vent insert is 4W4Z 19E984 AAA)

http://www.fordpartsgiant.com/parts/ford-knob-control_4w4z-19e984-aaa.html

 

[Telco]

Excellent, thanks. That looks really good. The adapter looks like it was made for the car, which was the main thing I was wondering about. I hate the integrated stereos they do now, and am really gonna hate it if they go all touch screen with everything.

 

[Turboguy]

This is what's going into my hooptie soon...

No double DIN (or CD player, for that matter) but will suit my needs.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_40323_Alpine-IDA-X305SBT.html

 

[1LoudLS]

i have a AVIC, i love it for the most part (F900bt) however, the older ones have a kinda of Fed up nav interface, however i have modded mine with a custom rom (see AVIC411.com) witch fixes a lot of the issues with the OEM system and make it a lot more usable considering the price i paid (under $550 shipped years ago when it was a current model)


kenwood make a pretty good unit nowadays (if you get it with nav, the garmin makes it the easiest to use)

as far as sound quality goes, alpine will always be hard to beat bottom line, I actually put one of those alpine X305's in to a guys truck from here last year (or earlier this year... hard to keep track lol), not a bad unit for the price as long as you dont need a CD player.

 

[1LoudLS]

How many people here ever realized that the Username "blwnbyu" actually stands for "Blowing By You" ???

after one of his first few post about his cobra, I got it

as in blown = FI

or "babies drink from a bottle, real men get blown!" ROFL